Did You Know...

**Written by Doug Powers

“Don’t overturn the health care law or else _____ will happen” part deux:

Medicare’s payment system, the unseen but vital network that handles 100 million monthly claims, could freeze if President Barack Obama’s health care law is summarily overturned, the administration quietly informed the courts.

Although Obama’s overhaul made significant cuts to providers and improved prescription and preventive benefits, Medicare was overlooked in Supreme Court arguments that focused on the law’s controversial requirement that all individuals carry health insurance.

Havoc for Medicare could have repercussions as both parties avidly court seniors in this election year and as hospitals and doctors increasingly complain the program doesn’t pay enough.

In papers filed with the Supreme Court, administration lawyers warned of “extraordinary disruption” if Medicare is forced to unwind countless transactions that are based on payment changes required by more than 20 separate sections of the Affordable Care Act.
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Last year, in a lower court filing, Justice Department lawyers said reversing Medicare payment changes “would impose staggering administrative burdens” on the government and “could cause major delays and errors” in claims payment.

If the Supreme Court strikes down the law, brace for a re-make of the “pushing grandma off a cliff” ad with the Court’s conservative members taking the place of Paul Ryan.

I can’t believe the administration would be concerned about Obamacare getting overturned, especially considering Donald Verrilli’s tour de force performance during oral arguments.

**Written by Doug Powers

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